With 12 wins and two losses, the UC High Girls Lacrosse Team has kicked off the season with a great lead, and looks to continue their momentum throughout the season.

   Head Coach Brianna Wray takes great pride in the team’s success. She stated, “I think the girls are doing amazing. They are practicing hard, really coming together when we need it the most, and really surprising some other teams. I believe they’re strong in gaining possession off of the draw, controlling the ball on offense, and shutting girls down on defense. The only thing I think we need work on is communication, and possessing the ball for longer periods of time.”

   Senior Co-Captain Casey Sandoval has some input on the season so far. “Personally, I feel like I have been improving as a captain and as a defensive player. I’ve been able to learn leadership and teamwork skills because of the amazing team I have and the bonds we’ve created,” said Sandoval. “As a team, I feel we have been improving so much from our first year of lacrosse at this school (2017). We have come together as a team and have all improved together on our fundamentals,” she added.

      To advance their level of play, captains and coaches explained that the team works on communication and ball possession. Wray added, “I am extremely proud of them this season and we have come so far. Obviously all of them have individual things that need work, but they work so hard on those things in practice and it really shows throughout the season.”

   “What motivates me to play is the thought of winning League and playing our first CIF game,” said Sandoval. “I love the friendships lacrosse has brought me, and I love how it’s such a team based sport and how there’s always room for improvement,” she added.

  Wray stated that the girls have made a notable amount of progress since last season. “We are playing much harder teams, scoring more goals, and we’re currently second in all of Division Two. Last season we didn’t make playoffs, but this year we’re looking really good to lock down a spot,” said Wray.

   This progression can best be highlighted by Junior Co-Captain Hillary Tang, who said, “The team went from 5-11 my freshman season [the program’s founding year], to 11-5 the following year, and now I have no doubt that we can get to CIF championships at the rate we are going.”

   Wray explained that the team has seen a lot of success against new, more challenging competition. “Our best game has probably been against either Bishops High or San Dieguito Academy. Both were games that we weren’t exactly in favor to win, but we came out on top. Even in tough losses, like those when we faced Patrick Henry High and Helix High, we’ve been able to learn from our mistakes,” said Wray.